This Week in Weird, April 30

Friday

PERRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio - A Perry Township police officer used his Taser gun to subdue a man last Saturday who reportedly walked out of a hospital restroom with a knife in his chest.

Officer Dan Dale deployed the Taser after Robert W. Shaw was ordered to drop the knife five or six times but refused, according to Perry Police Chief Mike Pomesky.

During the incident, Shaw allegedly pulled the knife from his chest and raised it above his head in a threatening manner. Shaw dropped the weapon after he was hit by the Taser and was secured to a hospital bed.

The incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the Aultman Hospital emergency room.

Police say man drove drunk at 153 mph

ONEIDA, N.Y. - A 20-year-old student was charged with drunken driving last weekend after he led state troopers on a high-speed chase at more than 150 mph, according to state police.

After troopers activated their emergency lights, the driver – Shane Crolick of Bedford Corners – failed to stop and continued to speed north in the high-performance vehicle for about two miles, troopers said.

Three other students were passengers with Crolick.

Crolick’s vehicle became disabled after it struck a guide rail, troopers said. Crolick was stopped as he attempted to drive away from the scene of the accident and taken into custody.

None of the four occupants of the vehicle were injured in the crash, troopers said. The vehicle, however, was heavily damaged and was towed from the scene.

Crolick was found to have a blood alcohol content level of 0.12 percent, troopers said.

Woman charged in beer bottle assault

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - A Framingham woman was arraigned on assault and disorderly conduct charges after police say she smashed a beer bottle over a bartender's head while he was escorting her from the bar.

Angellin Figueroa, 25, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct after the incident at The Happy Swallow Pub, police said.

Officers were called to the bar just before 2 a.m. last Saturday to investigate a report of three people fighting in the bar.

Police saw the patrons in the parking lot and learned that a bartender had been assaulted when he and a witness escorted Figueroa from the bar, said Lt. Ron Brandolini.

"She picked up a beer bottled and smashed it over the bartender's head," Brandolini said.

The bartender suffered a small cut on his lip, the lieutenant said.

Corpse left in van outside high school

PLAIN TWP., Ohio - A corpse was left in a van outside GlenOak High School for several hours last week, prompting an investigation by the Stark County Sheriff’s office.

No charges have been filed pending the review, said Chief Deputy Rick Perez.

According to Perez, the van’s owner had a part-time job with a funeral home. He picked up a body and went to his other job at GlenOak High, leaving it in his van in the parking lot.

Plain Local Schools Superintendent Christopher Smith confirmed the unusual incident. The man — part of the custodial staff — had been warned several times about being late for work, Smith said.

The worker apparently picked up the body at Mercy Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon and went to the funeral home, but no one was there. The man went to GlenOak because he was worried about keeping his job, Smith said.

Smith said the body apparently was appropriately bagged and secured. When others in the custodial staff learned of the body, they told the worker, “You need to get this out of here, and you need to get this to the funeral home.”

Illinois pols say no to paying for portrait of Blagojevich

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will need to find someone other than Illinois taxpayers to pay for his official state portrait if his successor agrees with state lawmakers.

The Illinois Senate approved House Bill 5109, which would not allow state funds to be used for his official Statehouse portrait. The measure now heads to Gov. Pat Quinn after clearing the House in March.

Jacobs said he thought if a governor was elected twice as Blagojevich did, they ought to get their portrait in the Hall of Governors.

Senators gave the idea no discussion before easily approving it. Sen. Mike Frerichs, the Democrat who sponsored the bill, said the lack of discussion showed how unified people were on the issue.

"I've talked about it with constituents who say why should we be paying for a portrait of this governor - a person who was impeached, a person who misused his office," Frerichs said. "What the bill doesn't do is say they can't have a portrait. It's saying the taxpayers will not pay for it."

Cops say man took sleeping pills, then drove into own fence

ASHLAND, Mass. - Police say a man who took sleep medication before driving failed to pull over for an officer, crashed into a fence at his home and nodded off during a sobriety test.

Responding to a report of an erratic driver, police spotted the Ford pickup of Antonio Alves, 26, as it went past a police station, spokesman Lt. Richard Briggs said.

The truck nearly hit the curb as it turned onto another street and swerved, Briggs said. An officer turned on his cruiser's lights and siren, but Alves didn't stop, turning onto another street and speeding up.

Alves pulled into his driveway, striking a chain-link fence, Briggs said. An officer got out and asked why he didn't pull over.

"He stated he didn't know (the officer) was behind him," Briggs said.

Alves' speech was slurred and he nodded off, slouching forward in his seat, Briggs said. The officer woke him and learned Alves had taken Lorazepam, a prescription drug used to treat insomnia. Alves passed the first round of a sobriety test but began falling asleep.

"He kept nodding off standing up," Briggs said.

Alves was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, failing to stop for a police officer and leaving the scene of an accident that caused property damage.

GateHouse News Service

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